


Determination

by urgentfolly



Series: Chara & Frisk Week (Sept. 9 - Sept. 15) [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: American Sign Language, Chara Swearing, Gen, Non-Binary Chara, Non-Binary Frisk, Other, Selectively Mute Frisk, Soft Chara, charafriskweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:04:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8018659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urgentfolly/pseuds/urgentfolly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chara knew that Frisk had been bothered by something all day, and they're determined to figure out what it is.<br/>(for #charafriskweek on tumblr. day 2: magic)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Determination

**Author's Note:**

> wowza, 2000+ words for a one day prompt, mom holy fuck. i'm officially a day behind on the #charafriskweek prompts, but i'm going to try to catch up so i'm not behind for the rest of the week. 
> 
> day 2 prompt: magic!!  
> i didn't originally have any prompt ideas for this so i was going to skip it, but then lo and behold i got an idea at midnight last night so HERE WE ARE, ENJOY  
> (this one is a little more angsty than the last one, just be aware)

Chara knew that Frisk had been bothered by something all day.They attempted to give their best friend some extra attention by initiating a few physical touches for once (despite Chara's immediate need to recoil), but Frisk only responded with a melancholic smile before returning to their thoughts.Chara watched as Frisk practically floated into the bathroom to brush their teeth before bed, and when their toothpaste missed their brush completely and landed in the sink, Chara knew they had to intervene before the situation escalated any further.

As soon as Frisk walked through their bedroom door, Chara slipped in behind them and shut it before Frisk could turn around.“Alright, Frisk, spill it.What’s been going on? You’re head has been in the clouds all day, I even tried to instigate a stupid hug, but you didn’t even _notice_!!Something’s wrong, and you are going to _tell me_ , damn it!!”

Frisk merely blinked at them.

“Are…. are the nightmares back again?”

That broke Frisk out of their stupor.Guilt ravaged their body.They knew how horrible Chara felt about the nightmares that they passed onto Frisk.

“ _No_!!” Frisk frantically signed, shaking their head. “ _No, it’s not that, Chara, I promise.I’m… It’s just…_ ” Frisk stared at the floor, not sure how to bring it up.They didn’t want to drag them back to their shared past and cause any pain.

Chara pursed their lips and scoffed.“You’re an _idiot,_ you know that?”

Before they could shoot a retort, Chara pushed Frisk over to the bed, sat down on the bed with their back against the wall, and gestured to the spot to the right of them with a very pointed look towards their friend.Frisk sat down and pulled their knees up to their chest, surprised at Chara’s actions but still unable to look them in the eye.Chara snatched Frisk’s hand and gripped it tight. Frisk jumped and finally turned to look, but now Chara was avoiding their gaze, blushing furiously.

“F-Frisk…” Chara squeaked, before clearing their throat.Frisk patted the back of their hand.They knew how hard it was for Chara to deal with physical contact.

Clearing their throat again, Chara whipped towards Frisk with an intense in their eyes.“I’m not in your head anymore, Frisk, I can’t help you if you don’t _tell me what’s wrong_!”

Frisk’s eyes widened. The words hung heavy in the room. 

“I… I-I’m sorry for w-worrying you,” Frisk whispered, their voice almost nonexistent.Tears pooled in the corner of their eyes. “It’s stupid and not that important, nothing’s wrong.”

“Yes there is, you dumbass,” Chara growled. “Look at how much it’s been affecting you.Therefore, it’s important and not stupid.”

“O-okay,” Frisk nodded and then switched back to sign. _“I’ve been curious… How did your soul get attracted to mine when I first fell into the Underground?”_

An empty look entered Chara’s eyes.Frisk moved to grab their arm and see if they were alright, but before they could, Chara rolled over, facing away from Frisk.Did Frisk say the wrong thing?Maybe they shouldn’t have asked, they knew Chara didn’t want to think about the past more than they were already forced to, this was an awful idea, why did Frisk—

Snickering shattered the silence.Chara’s shoulders were shaking, their face was pressed into the comforter, and tears were beginning to fall down their face, but they were _laughing._

“Are you— are you fuck— fucking _serious_ , Frisk?!” Chara said between gasps for air.“That is the— _the stupidest thing—_ I have ever h— _heard._ ”

Frisk frowned and punched their infuriating friend in the arm.It only made them laugh harder.

They waited until Chara had sat up and their bursts of giggles had calmed.Frisk glared and signed,”Your face _is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”_

Chara almost erupted into laughter again, but they took a deep breath and smirked at Frisk instead. “You’re the worst.Was that stupid thing seriously what you’ve been worrying about all damn day?”

Frisk nodded, cheeks faintly burning.

“Why didn’t you just ask me?”

“ _I didn’t think you wanted to remember the past that much, I thought you wouldn’t want to think about it.”_

“I don’t care about that, idiot.If everything hadn’t happened, then we wouldn’t have become friends.How much could I possibly hate it?” Chara didn’t mention that it was their time _before_ the Underground that they didn’t like to discuss.

Frisk smiled and clasped their best friend’s hand again.Chara tensed, the contact unexpected enough to take them off guard.Frisk moved to let go and give them their space, but Chara grimaced and clung firmly.

“My soul was attracted to your soul because of your determination.That’s why I never interacted with the other fallen children that came before you. They didn’t have it in the same quantities that you do.”

“T-that doesn’t make any sense,” Frisk stumbled over their words a bit, and their voice creaked with strain, but they refused to let go of Chara’s hand to sign. “What does d-determination have to do with anything?”

“Well, uh… I lived my ghost life in a sort of haze.Nothing was very clear; all sounds and colors and feelings were muddled.The first time I really started to notice my surroundings again was when Asri— Flowey started messing with the timeline.You need determination to do stuff like that.He _did_ have the most determination before you came along, so his presence was enough to give my soul a little jumpstart.” 

Nothing could compare to the rush of _everything_ when Frisk landed on Chara’s grave.The moment they landed on the golden flowers, Chara almost felt alive again.It felt like their soul was still deep red instead of the pale pink

Chara smiled fondly towards their friend.If they concentrated hard enough, they could still feel the bond between the two souls.It never really left after Chara regained their body.It was Frisk’s determination that brought them back to life, after all. It would always linger, but Chara didn’t mind.It was warm and cozy… It felt like home.

“I s-still don’t get it.”

Sometimes being at home got a little irritating. Chara sighed.“Your determination is your form of magic.Specifically, it’s a human form of magic, a magic that most monsters can’t handle.Since monsters are essentially made of magic, their form doesn’t mix well with how potent determination can be.The two forms of magic clash, and their bodies disintegrate.

“ _You’re_ determination,” Chara continued,”is stronger than the average human’s.That’s why my soul was attracted to yours compared to the other kids’.Basically, you’re a magic fucking wizard, Frisk.”

“…That’s so cool!”The stars in Frisk’s eyes lit up the room.“How did you learn all of this stuff anyway?” Frisk gasped, a knowing glint in their eyes. “Have you been p-paying attention in Toriel’s class?!”

“NO!!!!” Chara flushed and pouted.They really haven’t, which made them feel guilty.“…I’ve been studying with Alphys.”

Frisk scrunched their nose. _“_ Oh, duh.She would know a whole bunch about determination magic. I don’t know why I didn’t th-think about that first.”

Rolling their eyes, Chara moved to let go of Frisk’s hand but found it trapped in an iron grip. They spun around, ready to snap at Frisk to let them go, but their words got caught in their throat.Frisk’s bright mood had plummeted.“Frisk…?”

Frisk rubbed their closed fist in a circle on top of their heart.They were apologizing.

“Frisk, it’s fine, I just overreacted a little—“

Frisk held up a finger and took a deep breath.With their hands, they explained, _“I’m sorry. I got scared for a second. But I shouldn’t have kept holding on when I knew you wanted me to let go.”_

“I-it’s okay…”

_“…There was something else I was thinking about today.”_

“Oh yeah,” Chara snickered lightly,” another little thing that you’re making a big deal out of? Hit me with it.”

_“I was thinking about Resets.”_

Chara sobered at the confession and stared at their feet, the edges of their lips turning down. 

Around them, the night sounds replaced their conversation.All the lights in the house were out by now, and the sound of crickets in the garden grew louder without the presence of light.The chirps quieted when a car passed by; it illuminated the room, and then it drove past, leaving them surrounded in the darkness.For that one moment, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of two sets of lungs breathing in and out.

“Oh yeah?” Chara finally responded, a little weaker than they would have liked.Their body felt a little numb.“I don’t really know how those work yet, Alphys hasn’t gotten that far, but, um… have you been thinking about, uh, doing one?”

Less than a second after the sentence left their mouth, a fist pummeled into their bicep.

“ _Fuck,_ Frisk—!”

“NO WAY!!”

Chara’s eyes widened in shock.After a pause, they chuckled darkly.“That’s the most forceful I’ve heard you sound in a long time.”

Frisk grabbed Chara’s face with both hands and tugged it towards them until their foreheads were almost touching.“I said I would never.I told you, and I told Sans, and I _mean it._ I wouldn’t lie to you guys.”

Chara felt their vision go blurry.They jerked their head away from Frisk’s face and angrily rubbed at their eyes.“I’m just glad you’re saying that and not me.That way I know I can trust you.”

Frisk lightly tapped their shoulder and gestured to Chara’s lap with a somber smile.Chara eyed the door for a moment, wondering if they could handle any more contact that night without an episode.But they looked back at their best friend again and knew they could resist their huge, crybaby eyes.Rolling their eyes, they nodded and shifted so Frisk could lay their head down.

Once they were situated, Frisk let out waves of kindness and determination.For a moment, Chara couldn’t remember why they didn’t agree to this from the very beginning.They felt the worry drain out of their body.They felt loved.They felt safe. 

“It sure is scary, though,” Chara murmured, “when you think about it.You’ve got a lot of power with you that’s just biding its time, and you don’t know what to do with it.You never really mean to hurt someone — ow, you little shithead, don’t pinch me — okay _sometimes_ you do, but you and I both know that the circumstances aren’t usually dire enough to bring that out of you.Anyways, whether you would mean to or not, you have a lot of power that can do a lot of damage.You definitely have the capacity to cause chaos. and although we both learned a lot about your powers in the Underground, we still don’t really know how to use it. Even Alphys and Sans don’t know a lot about how Resets work, let alone how to stop them… But honestly, your inability to control it scares me.”

_“…I know. I’m sorry.”_

Chara sighed and lightly bonked their best friend on the head.“You don’t need to apologize, you idiot.I know that if we knew anything, you’d be working your ass off to make everything right.Which I still don’t understand, by the way, how can you possibly work so hard to make _everyone_ happy, I mean—“

Frisk wrapped their arms around Chara’s waist.During their rant, they didn’t notice Frisk shift.

Hesitating, they tried to figure out what to do with their arms.They were never very good at this.Chara placed their arms around Frisk’s torso, and when Frisk squeezed tighter, they took it as a sign that they were doing it right.

After a few seconds, Chara awkwardly patted Frisk’s back.“O-okay, hug time is over, I’m done with physical contact forever now.”

Frisk snickered and let go.

_“I love you, Chara!”_

Chara frowned and stuck their tongue out as they were walking towards the door. 

“Bleh, gross.” 

They opened the door —

“You’re gross.” 

— walked out of it — 

“You’re gross and I hate you.”

— and slammed it behind them.

Frisk giggled and fell onto their bed with a happy sigh.Just as they had closed their eyes, they heard a frustrated snarl and loud stomps.

Their door flung open.

“ _Fuck_ , I love you too, Frisk!” Chara roared.“Goodnight, you fucking nerd!”

The door slammed again, and the angry stomps retreated, followed by another door banging shut.

_“Goodnight, Chara.”_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading! this wasn't edited a lot, so please let me know if you see anything wrong. also, just let me know what you think! i'm always looking for ways to improve or what to continue!


End file.
